Massachusetts

Featured Massachusetts Resources:

Mercury Assesment for Schools & Communities
This checklist is designed to assist in identifying and locating mercury-containing products and equipment in schools. These products are typically found in the following areas: Science Labs, Facilities, Medical Offices, Home Economics and Art Classrooms.

Source: The Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association (NEWMOA)
http://www.newmoa.org/Newmoa/htdocs/prevention/mercury/schools/checklist.cfm

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Improving Environmental Conditions in MA Schools
This website provides links to a variety of web resources that address how to improve the school environment. Topics such as facilities management (including a wide range of environmental, health and safety issues), hazardous waste site impacts on schools, transportation, and waste reduction and recycling are addressed.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
http://www.mass.gov/dep/service/schools.htm

EPA Region 1: Drinking Water Security
This website provides information regarding how to do vulnerability assessments for small drinking water systems, including schools that provide their own well water.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/eco/drinkwater/dw-security.html

EPA Region 1: Schools and Drinking Water
The EPA Region 1 Schools and Drinking Water website contains a brochure that addresses safe drinking water in schools, as well as a poster and bookmark on source water protection for schools that operate their own well water system.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/eco/drinkwater/schoolsnh2o.html

Massachusetts --A Case Study of Environmental, Health, and Safety Issues Involving the Burlington Massachusetts Public School System
This Web site provides a case study of Environmental, Health, and Safety issues in the Burlington, MA public school system.
Source: EPA Region 7 - Burlington Board of Health
http://www.epa.gov/Region7/education_resources/teachers/ehsstudy/index.htm

New England Asthma Regional Council Toolkit for Reducing Diesel Emissions
NE Asthma Regional Council created this toolkit to help school communities, environmental officials, and others make informed decisions about ways to reduce harmful diesel emissions from school buses. Both materials created by ARC and generated by others are included in the toolkit, including a variety of fact sheets.
Source: New England Asthma Regional Council
http://www.asthmaregionalcouncil.org/about/BusToolkit.htm

Massachusetts Recycling Page
This website links to a solid waste management resource guide for MA schools, providing activities for grades K-6 and 7-12. There are also links to classroom presentation, a manual for implementing school recycling programs, and frequently asked questions about recycling and wate management.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
http://www.state.ma.us/dep/recycle/schools.htm

Massachusetts Environmental Health and Safety Issues in Massachusetts' Primary Schools
The interagency Healthy Schools Council was tasked with identifying a list of the most important issues for schools to address in terms of environmental health and safety. A multi-agency/multi-media checklist was developed addressing these issues.
Source: Massachusetts Healthy Schools Council - Massachusetts Department of Public Health
http://www.state.ma.us/dph/beha/iaq/schools/schools.htm

Massachusetts Children's Protection Act of 2000
The law "An Act to Protect Children and Families From Harmful Pesticides" is implemented by the MA Department of Food and Agriculture. This law requires schools, daycare center and school age child care programs to develop an IPM plan, requires parental notification re: pesticide application, and restricts pesticide applications both indoors and outdoors.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture
http://www.state.ma.us/dfa/cpa/index.htm

Massachusetts - Hazardous Waste and Your School
This fact sheet developed by EPA Region 1 describes how to determine if a school generates hazardous waste, and provides general information about hazardous waste identification numbers.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/assistance/schools/pdfs/mafact.pdf

Diesel Exhaust and School Bus Idling--EPA Region 1
This Region 1 web page includes a fact sheet which describes steps that can be taken to reduce diesel emissions, as well as the health effects associated with diesel exhaust.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/eco/diesel/

Massachusetts - Green Schools Initiative
The goal of the Green Schools Initiative is to encourage school districts to construct or renovate school buildings that will cost less to operate and will provide healthier learning environments for students. This pilot program is an extraordinary opportunity for school districts planning new schools or major renovations to create more efficient facilities. The program will also help influence how future schools will be designed and built in Massachusetts.
Source: Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC)
http://www.mtpc.org/RenewableEnergy/green_schools.htm

EPA New England Teacher Resource Center
A compilation of environmental education curricula may be found at this site.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/students/teacher/index.html

EPA New England's K-12 Schools Website
This site discusses efforts to improve coordination and integration amongst EPA's many schools related programs, and provides links to Regional topic specific web sites, such as: asbestos, diesel school buses, drinking water, environmental management systems, energy, indoor air quality, lead, mercury and teacher and student resources. Links to national websites are provided as well.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/schools

EPA New England Tools for Schools
Curriculum, case studies, and a map of Tools for Schools distribution and implementation may be found at this web link.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/eco/iaq/index.html

New England Resources for Schools
This website provides links to the Regional schools topics page, hazardous waste fact sheets, examples of the types of environmental issues found in schools, and other links of interest to the schools community.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/assistance/schools/index.html

Northeast Waste Management Officials Organization, Mercury in Schools and Communities
From January to June 2001, January to June 2002, and March to June 2003, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs funded NEWMOA to assist in identifying and removing elemental mercury and products containing mercury from schools and from homes. Technical materials developed to support this effort are referenced on this web site.
Source: Northeast Waste Management Officials Organization
http://www.newmoa.org/newmoa/htdocs/prevention/mercury/schools

Water Conservation Tips for Schools
This EPA New England website link provides information about conserving water in school environments.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/region01/eco/drinkwater/water_conservation_schools.html

Massachusetts Community Toxics Use Reduction in Schools
The TURN Projects on this site show how many Massachusetts school systems are creatively incorporating toxics use reduction into their policies and daily operations.
Source: Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute
http://www.turi.org/community/index.html

Massachusetts School IPM Website
This website provides information about integrated pest management (IPM) in schools.
Source: University of Massachusetts Extension School
http://www.umass.edu/umext/schoolipm

EPA Regional and State Asbestos Contacts
List of asbestos contacts in the EPA Regional Offices and the States.
Source: EPA - Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/regioncontact.html

EPA New England Asbestos Enforcement Program
This web site provides basic information about the various environmental regulations governing asbestos in schools (AHERA, ASHARA and NESHAP).
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/region1/enforcement/asbestos/index.html

Massachusetts Healthy Schools Web site
The Massachusetts Healthy Schools Web site is a resource for promoting healthy indoor air environments and environmentally sustainable school buildings in Massachusetts.
Source: Massachusetts Public Health Association - Massachusetts Healthy Schools Network
http://www.mphaweb.org/pol_schools.html

Massachusetts Preventing Indoor Air Quality Problems During Construction and Renovation
Renovation can adversely impact Indoor Air Quality in occupied building areas. Symptoms include headache, eye, throat, and respiratory irritation, and an increase in asthma complaints. The following recommendations have been successful in reducing Indoor Air Quality complaints during building renovation activities.
Source: Commonwealth of Massachusetts - Department of Workforce and Labor Development - Division of Occupational Safety
http://www.state.ma.us/dos/iaqdocs/IAQ-388.htm

Massachusetts - Environmental Management System Implementation in Waltham, MA Public Schools
The Waltham Public Schools has undertaken an innovative approach to managing their environmental affairs by implementing an Environmental Management System (EMS) based on the ISO 14001 international standard.
Source: Waltham Mass. Public Schools
http://www.city.waltham.ma.us/SCHOOL/WebPAge/EMS/EM.htm

Colleges and Universities in New England
Colleges and universities grapple with a myriad of environmental issues in order to protect the health of their communities and comply with the law, both on and off campus.To improve C/Us' overall environmental compliance, EPA-NE has launched a coordinated enforcement/compliance assistance effort aimed at reaching all of New England's colleges and universities.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/assistance/univ/